George Will: Obama had done damage to presidency

President marginalizes Congress, now wants its OK

4:55 PM,
Sep. 9, 2013

A new Associated Press poll shows a majority of Americans oppose a U.S. strike on Syria, despite a weeks-long Obama administration campaign to respond to chemical weapons attacks allegedly carried out by the regime of President Bashar Assad.

Written by

GEORGE F. WILL

In London exile in 1940, Charles de Gaulle decided "it was up to me to take responsibility for France" - "c'etait a moi d'assumer la France." No U.S. president should assume he is, as de Gaulle almost mystically did, the nation, or is solely responsible for it. Remember this tonight when Barack Obama defends his choice to attack Syria.

U.S. power and security are somewhat dependent on a president's stature, which should not be diminished unnecessarily. Neither, however, should America's well-being be equated with a president's policy preferences or political health. The real but limited ...